Shift Bioscience, a biotech company leveraging AI-powered virtual cells to combat age-related diseases, has announced the establishment of a new North American team and facilities to advance its rejuvenation gene discovery platform. The expansion to Toronto provides access to a leading AI and machine learning talent pool, reinforcing the company’s AI-focused strategy.
Lucas Camillo, Head of Machine Learning, will lead the new team, overseeing the continued development of the virtual cell platform to identify novel rejuvenation gene targets. He will collaborate closely with Professor Bo Wang, who joins as Senior Advisor. Wang, an expert in AI and computational biology, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and Chief AI Scientist at the University Health Network.
Following its $16 million Seed funding round in October 2024, Shift Bioscience is focused on expanding its AI-driven cell simulation capabilities. Camillo highlighted the importance of North America’s AI ecosystem, stating that assembling a world-class machine learning team would be instrumental in advancing the platform. Wang emphasized that AI’s transformative power is key to unlocking gene targets for age-related disease treatments and expressed enthusiasm for accelerating the virtual cell platform’s development.